The name 'tartaro' is probably derived from the resemblance of some calcareous precipitates to the encrustrations of potassium bitartrate (‘tartar’) deposited in wine casks during fermentation. It has also been suggested that Corsi’s samples are named after Lago di Tartaro, a location close to Tivoli. Other examples of this stone are uncommon; they include samples in the Pescetto collection (1870) in Rome, and a tablet in an inlayed table-top brought back from Rome in 1830 and now in the National Trust’s Farnborough Hall in Oxfordshire. Corsi's specimens from Terni appear indistinguishable from the Tivoli specimens; are they indeed from a different locality?

Stones navigation

Browse all stones

search tips

Searches the database for all stone records containing the words you enter. To search for a text string, put it between quotation marks. To search for stone records that don't contain a word, put a minus sign in front of it.

For example, entering: granite "coarse-grained" -Egypt will find all the coarse-grained granites that do not come from Egypt.